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| Arabia | |
| Charities unjustly associated with terrorism: IIROSA chief | |
| 2011-05-02 | |
[Arab News] Adnan Khalil Basha, secretary-general of the International Islamic Relief Organization, Soddy Arabia (IIROSA), said his organization and similar charities have been unjustly associated with terrorism.
Basha said IIROSA has been working to combat poverty, illiteracy and ignorance that leads to extremism and then terrorism. He added that although IIROSA faces difficulties transferring money for projects abroad, the organization expects to overcome these obstacles with the support of the Saudi government. "These challenges have helped the charity reconsider itself, become organized and work on delivering quality services," he said. Basha said work is under way to bring all charity organizations under an umbrella body, something that is being carried out with the support of the Organization of the Islamic Conference. OIC is an international organisation with a permanent delegation to the UN, with 57 member states. It represents all countries with substantial Moslem populations (as opposed to the Arab League, which excludes members not of the Master Race) except those which member countries block from joining. These include India, which has more Mohammedans than does Pakistain, whose membership is vetoed by Pakistain... A number of government ministers and eminent Islamic scholars and renowned personalities from the Kingdom and other countries, such as Morocco, Yemen, Thailand, Nigeria, India, Kenya, Uganda and Sudan, will attend the General Assembly meeting to discuss a host of issues related to charity work. Participants will present suggestions and ideas to upgrade the organization's work and boost its various activities to cope with the requirements of the contemporary age and keep pace with new developments in humanitarian work. The event will also include a seminar to highlight charity work and a function to honor supportive participants of both genders. Basha explained that at the local level, IIROSA gave SR10.8 million in cash and food baskets, clothes and other gifts to 33,752 people across the Kingdom. He added that last year IIROSA helped some 2.9 million people in 58 countries, sponsored 29,296 orphans in 21 Asian, African and European countries, and administered 30 orphanages. The secretary-general also revealed that the organization last year implemented 47 health projects. In the field of education, IIROSA is sponsoring 39 educational institutions and programs in addition to four vocational centers to benefit 39,244 male and female students. IIROSA last year launched six new real estate endowment projects consisting of residential towers in Makkah at a cost of SR500 million. Proceeds from the projects would be used to finance the activities of the organization's various departments. The projects generate annual revenue of SR45 million. | |
| Posted by:Fred |